Afghan hopes dashed after no-show

PATTAYA, Thailand, Feb 7 (Reuters) Afghanistan's bid to reach the soccer finals of next year's Olympic Games apparently came to a premature end after the team failed to show up for their first qualifying match with Vietnam.

With no team to play, Vietnam declared themselves victors by default, although soccer's world governing body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed there had been no official withdrawal.

Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl said he had told his players to return home from Nam Dinh, where today's match had been due to take place.

''The match commissioner told me the Afghanistan team couldn't fly because of bad weather,'' Riedl told Reuters.

''All I know is my players have left their camp and they are on their way back to Hanoi now.'' Several Vietnamese newspapers reported that the Afghans had conceded the match after discovering at the last minute that there were no flights available.

Afghanistan had earlier agreed to cancel their home leg in Kabul next week because of security concerns in the war-torn country, reducing the tie to a single leg.

REUTERS PDS PM1800